Managing Human Resources of The Corporation within the Culture of the Country - Essay Example

Managing human resources of the corporation within the culture of the country With the progressive globalization of international organizations and business corporations, there is also the progressive challenge given the fact that the situation is characterized by the factor of managing an expatriate workforce in the international scenario, for the strategic completion of important work within the system (Brewster 1998, Gregersen & Black 1996). Most multinational companies, -MNCs-make use of expatriates, not just for extending power over the international operations and for managing the overall trend at using national models of leadership in international markets but also because of the fact that ensuring an entry into and expertise reasons in vital global markets, but also to facilitate entry into new markets or to develop international management competencies (Bird & Dunbar 1991, Rosenzweig 1994, Shaffer, Harrison & Gilley 1999). Although it an a widely accepted fact that problems relating to the process of human resource management are complicated in the context of the larger international environment, one could also find growing proof that would seem to suggest the fact that the nature of expatriate management in an international scenario with the human resource management index in place, would be a large determinant of the triumph or collapse of the business (Tung 1984, Hiltrop 1999). In the case of some of the more well known and the established MNCs, the inability to successfully communicate and to synchronize their activities in international business has the potential to plunge them into a crisis. The crises confronting MNCs include failed assignments due to premature return of expatriates and the loss of their returned expatriates due to poor repatriation. These crises, due to poor expatriate management, can, therefore, threaten the organization’s performance and capabilities in the international arena. If, one is, therefore, to stay away from a catastrophe in expatriate management, the idea would be to follow a three-pronged process. The first test for international human resource is to plan in an effective manner, the selection of candidates that would be chosen for expatriate assignments. The second most important factor is, that, ensuring correct placement and work allocation for expatriates that are returning from an overseas assignment in the parent nation should be a priority for the attention of the management. Essentially, the primary crisis management roles of international human resource (IHR) professionals are those of record custodian, crisis management team member, communicator, and contributing writer to the emergency plan (Williamson 1991). This multifaceted role of IHR includes providing professional counseling to help employees and their families to deal with the psychological problems associated with a hostage or an evacuation situation, to concentrate on the well-being of their workforce, but they also addressed compensation and benefits issues, reassignment issues, legal issues, health, safety, and security issues. In the following discussion, one outlines the plan for expatriate management for an MNC starting operations in China. In contemporary times that are characterized by business expansion in the developing countries one of the most important destination for manufacturing expansion in the international market is the Chinese destination- this is also in line with the overall trend of tweaking the two end points of value chain that would also be being moved to those of the developing countries. This has an ultimate manifestation in the fact that an increasing number of expatriate workers are being assigned to China, where the issues related to the management of human resources are a lot more complex given the fact that traditional expatriate management model becomes not so suitable to environment of Chinese subsidiaries (Gail Reinhart 2005). This ultimately results in problems given, especially, the cross-culture nature of management that a Chinese set-up requires. From a western perspective, Chinese culture, institution and people may appear completely baffling. This could also have ramifications in terms of the fact that most western culture educated and trained management professionals are often unable to cope with the process of work jobs very well which require a good grip of China such as marketing and human resource management etc. the process of improving work ethics and efficiency by ensuring that one is able to adapt to the Chinese economic, social and political systems-especially those related to social culture and value, leading ultimately to consist reduction and the retention of positive relationships with the host country, would therefore be a basic concern in expatriate management in China. Innovation in expatriate management and reconstruction of expatriate management model has been brought into the agenda (Zhao, Down and Welch, 2001). Expatriate Selection Process Studies have found that there is an inordinate amount of stress that is laid on the overall technical competence of the teams selection for the process of expatriation. There should also be some importance assigned to selection of people with certain importantly mentioned personality traits such as patience, malleability, the abilities to adjust and learn in new environments and low level of resistance to change. Reaction and motivational abilities are also important in terms of them being criterion for selection. The overall nature of the candidates suitability to the post would also then include the person’s living and family situations, in light of the fact that singles tend to take an international locational shift easier and in fact make the transition faster than those that have families to either move or to leave behind. Language skills would also then hold importance and prior expatriate experience as moderately unimportant. It has also been found that previous overseas experience reduced the need for orientation. The two most dominant factors therefore in the choice of candidates would be technical expertise and domestic track record in terms of the ability of the candidate to adapt and to perform effectively. There is special stress that needs to be laid on the factors of cultural and adaptability in the demands on an offshore assignment. Coping and Adjustment Coping refers to an individual’s efforts to manage a stressful situation. Psychologists typically differentiate between two approaches to coping with stress: symptom-focused strategies and problem-focused strategies. Symptom-focused strategies are used to diminish emotional distress by attending to behavior an expression, psychological disturbance, subjective distress, or all of the above (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). In contrast, problem focused coping strategies are efforts to take constructive action to changing the situation that leads to the creation of stress. Hence, problem-focused coping strategies are used to addressing the problems and changing the situation, whereas symptom-focused strategies are at the minimization of anxiety and distress. Although the two generic types might not cover all forms of coping strategies, one would not for the sake of simplicity, include defensive or unconscious strategies would not be included in this particular plan of action. Understanding China An understanding of the Chinese and the country itself, along with a sense of familiarity that would breed respect of the culture and beliefs of foreign corporations through long-term work at the Chinese subsidiaries of MNCs. There is also therefore the need for an improvement at gradual capability in terms of the management process, along with the art of picking up knowledge in the Chinese manner of doing things and a professional mastery of the overall massage defining the Chinese business. It is, incidentally, these very things that make the Chinese staff outstanding in terms of performance at work, making them qualified enough to adapt to junior management positions. One has to understand the fact that mush co the work where the expatriates are concerned would be limited to functions of leadership and man management at the upper rung of the managerial hierarchy in terms of position-this would then mean that the ultimate success or failure of the business would be largely dependant on the ability of the expat-management at ensuring that they are able to inspire loyalty, faith and confidence within the local level workers in the perspective of the larger business. The idea is to not just reserve the higher rungs of positions for the expatriates but also to use these as a tool of motivation, promising career advancement and growth. MNCs have to, therefore, consider career advancement of local staff, which causes the change of expatiate relocation. Nowadays, expatriates are not responsible for operational tasks any longer, but offer help and guidance to local staff in difficulties. However, since expatriates have the benefits of familiarity with corporate culture and the ability to transfer it into Chinese subsidiaries, many organizations still prefer to select expatriates especially parent country nationals to be senior managers or administrators of non-product department. One would also have to understand the fact that much of the modern internationalization of operations is due to the factor of the low cost of production and labor (Long, 1981). Given the fact that expatriates are a cost-heavy burden on the company finances, the overall spirit o human resource management where foreign locations are concerned would have to be focused on an increasingly localized system of functioning, thereby reducing the expatriate cost burden to a bare minimum. Usually, the amount of an expatriate manager’s salary and the cost of housing allowance, vacations and children education will reach to 250,000-350,000 dollars. It would also be mentioned here that primarily offshore assignments need to be of mid-to-short durations given the fact that much of the motivation levels along with the efficiency tends to drop in the context of the longer stints abroad. Adjustment: Requirements and methods Studies of international adjustment suggest that two types of adjustment are important. First the well adjusted expatriate feels like he or she could manage effectively in the new environment, the type of adjustment in three areas is important for expatriate successes: adjusting to work demands; adjusting to interaction for expatriate success; adjusting to interaction with the host country nationals (HCNs) and adjusting to the non-work environment (Black, Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991). Adjustments would also include a general sense of well-being, which is better known as psychological adjustment. Thus expatriates who adjust effectively to a foreign environment often feel that they could manage work demands, interact effectively with HCNs; manage demands of the non-work environment and experience a sense of satisfaction and general well-being. This could be achieved through uncertainty reduction and change. As an individual learns mrore about newer environments, requirements for effective performance become clear. Once the situation is understood, the expatriate could change him/herself to that they adapt and deal better with whatever situations they are presented with. in this context therefore there is the requirement for the pre-departure training, which would in the long run help the expatriate in better dealing and adjusting with situations. Pre-departure Training In terms of pre-departure training for expatriate assignments it has been found that although it is considered important, the high costs that are associated with expatriation often reduce the ability of the company to correctly train candidates for expatriation. One finds a general belief that although important, training would have to work under the constraints of the cost effectiveness of the overall function (Chew, 2001). The idea would therefore remain that training needs to be aimed at ensuring that the expatriates are aware of the challenges that they would face, along with the manner in which these need to be dealt with. simple workshops in which incoming expatriates would share experiences are probably one of the better and the more cost effective manner of providing this training. Repatriation The average length of a foreign posting is three years. Most firms also offer expatriates a mutually acceptable position on their return from an assignment (Chew, 2001). Most do not provide any re-entry training for their returned expatriates, but did provide shipment of goods and relocation benefits. Companies also tend to provide repatriation programs but not in a formalized form. Conclusion In conclusion, one could reiterate that every firm should try to prevent a crisis from occurring- these include failed assignments and the loss of their returned expatriates due to poor repatriation. Repatriation must be planned carefully, from the time of expatriation when expatriate selection occurs. By putting in place suitable HR policies and procedures, an organisation can both, more efficiently manage human resource globally and encourage more employees to accept foreign transfers. Reference: Brewster, C. (1998). International HRM: Beyond expatriation. Human Resource Management, 7(3), 31-42. Gregersen, H.B., & J.S. Black (1996). Multiple commitments upon repatriation: Japanese Experience. Journal of Management. 22(2), 209-230. Bird, A., & Dunbar, R. (1991). Getting the job done over there: Improving expatriate productivity. National Productivity Review, Spring, 145-156. Shaffer, M.A., Harrison, D. A., & Gilley, M.A. (1999). Dimensions, determinants, and differences in the expatriate adjustment process. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(3), 557-559 Tung, R. L. (1984). 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